Sugar sugar

I love Dr. Pepper, so when I was in Texas a couple years ago I made a point of seeking out Dublin Dr. Pepper in the local stores. What makes it different from what I can find here up north? The Dublin, Texas bottling company's version stays true to the original formula and uses cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup.

What's the difference? A Dr. Pepper with sugar tastes cleaner, lighter, and a bit sharper than one with HFCS. I've also found that this holds true for other "throwback" soft drinks. Taste-wise, the difference is subtle--less sweet, perhaps.

With HFCS being one of the nutritional bogeymen du jour, Pepsi has capitalized with limited edition sales of "made with real sugar" Pepsi and Mountain Dew. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this time around Dr. Pepper, which is distributed by Pepsi, is also being sold in a retro version (or "heritage", as described on the can).

That Pepsi has brought the products back, even if for a temporary period, indicates to me that there is a market for them, so I wonder why they're still limiting their availability. If anything, they can probably get away with charging a little more, as is the case with Dublin Dr. Peppers. I'm under no illusion that there's anything healthy about drinking these beverages made with sugar, but I would be up for having them available all the time, mainly because they taste better.